How Do You Get Rid of a Wart on Your Finger?

A wart on your finger may not cause any symptoms. When symptoms occur, they may include: 

• Local pain or irritation
• May be flat or have a raised surface 
• Thickened skin
  • Small, rough growth
  • Can look like a callus
• Tiny black dots on the surface of the wart
• Can be light-colored to gray-brown or pink

Warts on your finger and elsewhere on the body are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

There are many different types of HPVs, but only about 10 types cause warts on the skin. 

The virus can enter the skin through small cuts or scrapes on the skin after direct contact with recently shed viruses from an infected person. The virus is not highly contagious, but it can be kept alive in warm, moist environments, by direct contact with an infected person such as shaking hands, or by touching surfaces like a doorknob that was touched by an infected person. 

Those at higher risk for developing warts include: 

• Children 
• People with compromised immune systems 
• People in certain occupations, such as meat, fish, and poultry handlers

The diagnosis of a wart on your finger is made with a physical examination. If the diagnosis is uncertain, tests may include: 

• Skin scrapings: The top layer of the wart is scraped off and examined for other signs (dark pinpoint dots, which may indicate clotted blood vessels).
• Skin biopsy: A small area of the skin where the wart appears is shaved off and sent to a lab for further analysis.